Tribe Mors
Tribe Mors is splintered into a series of lesser tribes, forced to live a nomadic existence within the harsh Desert World of Tallarn. These tribes chart their course over the desert sands using the locations of oasis as stops. These oases are scattered throughout the desert at random points. The tribe never stops at a location for too long so as to prevent their water source from running dry. They chart their course in such a pattern as to avoid contact with fellow tribes, so as to not exceed the limits of an oasis to provide. When they do chance upon other tribes, it is during their wanderings through the desert. A ritual exchange of information regarding the conditions of their respective tribes take place. In this way, the individual sections are made aware of the workings of the Greater Tribe on the whole. During such exchanges, the tribes use this opportunity to replenish whatever they so happened to be lacking currently, be it food supplies or firearms. In this manner, the balance of power between the tribes is kept in check, for the tribes necessarily have to sacrifice something they have in abundance in exchange for what they are in dire need of. No tribe is thus greater than another, although this system of balance is not perfect and some tribes are indeed wealthier or more powerful than their fellow tribes. Conflicts however, do occur between the tribes at times, despite the stance of mutual aid and non-aggression practised between the tribes. These are occasions when the land dries up and the scarcity of water drives the tribes into competition for rare pockets of precious water. All this further creates an environment of harsh existence, where only the fittest survive. The Nomads of Tribe Mors are thus tough individuals, adapting to the many dangers posed by life in the Desert World of Tallarn, one such adaptation being the evolution of highly developed senses of perception. A Nomad is conditioned to be intimately aware of his immediate surroundings, thus it is extremely difficult to take one off-guard. The Hruds of Tribe Mors have developed many means to conserve water, even the water within their own bodies. When a Hrud dies, his body is left within the Deathstill, the water extraction system within the huge Sandcrawlers that serve as the mobile homes of the Hrud Nomads. The water within the dead body is drained and stored in the water storage tanks within the Sandcrawlers. The Nomads have derived ways to conserve water to such an extent that they have developed incredibly advanced Stillsuits, at least from the standpoint of their primitive existence. These Stillsuits are made from the leathery hides of the Desert Yaks, a native lifeform of Tallarn that subsist on the sparse vegetation scattered throughout the desert. The hides of the Yak have high water absorbent properties and have even greater water retention capabilities. The Yaks as such do not imbibe water to quench their need for it like other lifeforms but immerse their entire bodies within an oasis. In this way they can travel many miles across the desert in search of the sparse vegetation that forms their diet, never needing to drink by subsisting on the water stored in the sacs beneath their hides. The skintight Stillsuits work by absorbing the bodily waste products naturally generated by the actions of the body. A filtration mechanism within the Stillsuits extract the water, while leaving the waste byproducts to be excreted back into the surroundings. The extracted water is then reabsorbed back into the body of the Hrud. The entire water recycling system is powered by pumps built into the heels of the suit, thus the motions of the Hrud both causes the natural excretion of waste products and the powering of the processes of the Stillsuit. Another invention of the Nomads of Tribe Mors is the Nightshades. The twin-suns of Tallarn scorch the barren ground with harsh, glaring rays, making it a setting most unfavourable to the Hruds, for due to their nocturnal origins, are highly susceptible to bright lights. The sensitive eyes of the Hruds could not take bright flashes of light, which made it even worse that the star system of Tallarn contained two suns. This prompted the Hruds to formulate a device which would ensure the protection of their eyesight in this harsh world. The Nightshades was thus invented to fulfill this need. It is made of two lenses that have been shaded to appear dark when viewing through it. The lenses is made of obsidian, a mineral, that due to its dark shade, prompted the Hrud Weaponsmiths of Tribe Mors to use in the creation of the Nightshades. To the Hruds wearing them, the time of the day would appear to be night, for everything is shrouded in darkness. This makes it perfect for the eyesight of the Hruds for they were born in a dark place, the Underempire of a moon of a planet at the center of the galaxy. Another item the Nomads of Tribe Mors have taken to manufacturing is the Mirage Cloak. Although common and in wide circulation in the Underempire of the Hruds, the Hruds of Tribe Mors, due to their location and segregation from the rest of the tribes and clans of the Underempire, have taken to manufacturing their own Mirage Cloaks to weather the cold nights and hot days of the Desert World of Tallarn. While the first Mirage Cloaks and the Mirage Cloaks used by the tribes of the Underempire are black, for the landscape of the Underempire is shrouded in a deep twilight, the Mirage Cloaks used by the Nomads is brown, the colour of the sand that surrounds them for miles in all directions. This gives them a limited amount of camouflage, and it is the source of their reputed ability to go unnoticed, and part of the reason why they are so hard to spot. The Mirage Cloaks serve greatly in both war and peace times. In war, the Mirage Cloaks further obscure the silhouettes of their Nomads from their enemies, appearing as a "mirage" caused by the heat of the sun. This has given rise to its name among the Hruds, for its camouflaging properties. In peace times, it keeps out the heat of the sun, and gives some protection from the cold of the night. The Mirage Cloak is thus a prized possession of the Nomads, and even a necessity. During the day, the Sandcrawlers of the splinter tribes of Tribe Mors seek out areas composed of soft soil. Great burrowing drills on the underside of the Sandcrawlers would dig deep into the ground, forming huge pits in which the Hruds would seek refuge from the scorching heat. The Hruds would then proceed to extend the depths of the pit horizontally through burrowing, creating a network of tunnels. These network of tunnels would have a main tunnel from which branch out the various sub-tunnels that lead to various dens. Moving down the layers of the Warren are the mating dens. Any Hruds in heat would proceed to mate within, and the young litters produced are gathered in the nursing dens at the lowest levels of the Warren where they would be furthest away from the dangers present on the surface. Having burrowed out the complex network of tunnels that comprise the interior of the Warren, the Hruds would then proceed to burrow sub-tunnels from the main tunnel route that exit onto the surface. These tunnel exits provide several routes of escape should an external force attempt to break into the Warren. The burrowing of the Warren is done by the Greyfurs of the tribe, while the Blackfurs act as sentinels guarding the Sandcrawler from threats. The Hrud Nomads reside within the Warren temporarily, until such a time that the water supply within the storage tanks of the Sandcrawler runs dry. When night falls, the tribe would then proceed on their nomadic wanderings, heading towards the nearest oasis where they can replenish their water supply. The Hruds occasionally encounter the Tallarn Bedouins in their travels, Human nomads who live an existence of constant travel much like the Hruds. The Hrud tribes usual disposition is to avoid contact as much as possible with the Humans they coexist with. However, Hruds and Humans have been known to enter into territorial disputes over areas rich in resources. The Hruds of Tribe Mors have proven to be a resilient and resourceful foe, such that, out of respect of their adversaries, the Tallarn Bedouins have started to use Hrud terms in their everyday speech. The Hruds have likewise borrowed from the language of Man, calling themselves after them. The Fedaykin of Tribe Mors for instance, is derived from the tongue of the Tallarn Bedouins, the original word being "Fedayeen", and roughly translated, means "one who is ready to sacrifice his life". In their initial forays with the Humans, the Hrud tribes were at a disadvantage due to their relative primitivity, lacking in firearms compared to the Tallarn Bedouins. The Hruds, with their cunning minds, saw the solution to the problem by scavenging from dead Tallarn Bedouins. In the aftermath of a battle, the Hruds would return to the scene of the battlefield to salvage whatever firearms they can from the bodies of fallen Bedouins. During times of peace, the Hrud would engage in a technological exchange with the Bedouin caravans they would meet, trading knowledge of the manufacturing of Stillsuits for knowledge of the manufacturing of firearms. Through these exchanges, the Hruds learnt to built forges for the manufacturing of weapons within their Sandcrawlers. The salvaged firearms from the fallen bodies of Bedouin Warriors were modified within these forges. These modified firearms, called Jezails by the Hruds, are highly customisable, capable of having attached double barrels, allowing the firing of two rounds in a single shot. The Jezails form the standard firearms of the Greyfurs of Tribe Mors, known as the Nomad Warriors of the Hrud by the Bedouins. The Blackfurs of Tribe Mors, calling themselves Dune Warriors, use a sawn-off version of the Jezail. Its reduced size allows it to be used as an additional close combat weapon in hand-to-hand engagements, but the range of the firearm is compromised due to its shortened barrel. The Sawn-off Jezail may be used both as a pistol as well as a rapid fire weapon due to its highly customisable design. Another source from which Tribe Mors is able to gain access to firearms is from the fellow Tribes and Clans of the Underempire and the rest of Hrudom. The Nightshades and Stillsuits manufactured by Tribe Mors are goods of high demand in all Hrudom, and fetch tremendously high prices. The usual exchange of a Nightshades or Stillsuit is commonly either a Warplock Rifle or Fusil. Besides the trading of firearms, Tribe Mors use their monopoly over the production of Nightshades and Stillsuits to procure valuable raw materials and food sustenance that would be otherwise scarce on the Desert World of Tallarn. The denizens of Tribe Mors do not use these firearms in their engagements but rather use the parts and pieces as raw materials for their own modified weapons of war. An example of such a weapon that contain parts of the Warplock Rifle is the Hrud Rifle. The only individuals in the entire Tribe to use Warplock Rifles or Fusils in engagements of war are the Seer Chieftains. The main reason why Warplock Rifles are not used as a standard firearm by the warriors of the Tribe is due to the fact that the weapon restricts mobility as it is a move or shoot weapon. Battles fought under the harsh Suns of Tallarn are quick and decisive, with mobility being integral to victory. On the open, bare lands of Tallarn, there is no place to take cover and being able to be constantly on the move is essential to survival. The Seer Chieftains on the other hand do not have to be constantly on the move. Rather, holding a stationary position in the center of the army in full view of the movements of each element of the Tribe would be more favourable as the Seer Chieftains are responsible for coordinating and commanding the forces of the Tribe. As such, the Seer Chieftains choose weapons of war that have great range and possess tremendous firepower. The Warplock Rifle and the Fusil is easily among the most powerful weapons available to Tribe Mors, so they are considered a staple equipment of the Seer Chieftains. However, it is also not uncommon for the Seer Chieftains to equip themselves with the weapons of the various warriors of the Tribe. For instance, if the Seer Chieftain so chooses to join a Sharpshooter unit, he would wield instead the Hrud Rifle. Over his long lifespan, he has so trained in all the ways of war mastered by the warriors of Tribe Mors, he is at home within any unit upon the battlefield, able to fulfill each distinct role equally well. Within the forges of the Sandcrawlers, the Weaponsmiths of Tribe Mors developed the Hrud Rifle, an entirely original creation specifically designed to suit the nomadic style of warfare of the tribes. It is so called for it was designed by the Weaponsmiths to be the definitive weapon of war for the Hruds. Its components are derived from the parts of the various types of firearms the Hruds have come across through their scavenging. It is a high-powered, single-shot slug rifle, with a long barrel that gives it incredible range. The most innovative design of the Hrud Rifle is its recoilless firing mechanism, allowing the Hrud Rifle to be fired even on the move. The Hrud Rifle is upgradeable with a laser-sighted sniper scope that allows it to hit targets at critical areas with pinpoint accuracy. The Hrud Rifle is also designed to be compatible with various types of ammunition. Indeed, it has been observed of Hrud riflemen of Tribe Mors, firing pulse shots with their rifles after an encounter with Tau Empire forces. As of yet, the Hruds have refused the invitations of the Water Caste ambassadors to join the Tau Empire, for the Hruds are a secretive race that pride themselves on their self-reliance. On a note, the Tallarn Desert Raiders do not pursue the complete destruction of this Hrud infestation on their homeworld, because of their relatively benign disposition and lack of a substantial threat. Besides, it would be a task of the highest tedium to route out and cleanse every burrowed den infested with Hruds without a complete Exterminatus, and that world has seen its fair share of that already.